# When a NEMT Broker Network Is Full: How to Get Off the Waitlist and Find Other Trips

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/guides/broker-network-full/ · Updated 2026-09-29

A full NEMT broker network usually means the broker has no need for your vehicle type in your area right now, not that you are shut out for good. Apply anyway so you stay on file, ask which counties and service levels are short, and meanwhile sign with other brokers, health plans, facilities, and PACE programs, and take private pay riders.

- Brokers add providers where they need them, so a "no" today is often a "not here, not this vehicle, not yet".
- Send a complete application anyway. Several brokers keep it on file and call when a need opens.
- Lead with what the broker lacks: a service level, a county, or hours that other companies do not cover.
- Other Medicaid doors often stay open: other health plan brokers, fee-for-service programs, counties, and new broker contracts.
- Never pay anyone for a spot in a network or for riders. Federal and state rules ban it.

You did everything right: LLC, NPI, insurance, a clean van, trained drivers. Then the broker says it is not adding providers in your area. That answer is common, and it is rarely final. Here is what it usually means, how to stay first in line, and where else to find paying trips while you wait.

## What "the network is full" really means

Brokers do not take every qualified company. They contract where they need more rides, and they say so on their own provider pages:

| Broker | What it says about new providers |
|---|---|
| MTM Health | If it has a need in your area, you hear back quickly. If not, it keeps your information on file and reaches out when it has opportunities. |
| Verida | It reviews each Request for Qualifications to decide whether your region needs new providers, and only then moves you to the next step. |
| MediTrans (Louisiana) | Not everyone is accepted. It depends on how full your region is and which vehicle types it needs. You get a letter either way, and a denied company stays on record. |
| Modivcare | Its provider page has a map of the priority areas where it most needs providers. |
| Provide A Ride and Tennessee Carriers | Not everyone who applies is accepted. Each picks new companies by network needs, capabilities, experience, and location. |

Federal rules allow this. Under [42 CFR 438.12](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-438.12), a Medicaid health plan does not have to contract with more providers than it needs to serve its members. The same rule reaches a broker the state pays as a NEMT prepaid plan, through [42 CFR 438.9](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-438.9). What the rule does require is written notice of the reason when it declines you.

A signed contract does not promise trips either. MTM Health's standard agreement, in the January 1, 2023 version Pennsylvania posts, guarantees no minimum number of trips and leaves trip volume to MTM's discretion. New York's broker assigns trips by the member's choice first, then the medical provider's choice, then by rotation, and eMedNY says Medicaid enrollment is no guarantee of trip assignments.

So "full" often comes down to one of three things: full for your county, full for your vehicle type, or full for the hours you run. Each of those can change.

## When the state, not the broker, has closed the door

Sometimes the freeze comes from the Medicaid agency. Under [42 CFR 455.470](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-455.470), a state can pause enrollment of new providers in a high-risk type. It must first find that the pause will not hurt member access and get CMS's agreement. Each pause lasts 6 months and can be extended 6 months at a time, with the reason documented each time.

| Where | What is closed | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota, seven-county Twin Cities metro (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington) | No new NEMT providers located in the metro are enrolled. Companies located in any other Minnesota county can enroll. | January 27, 2027 (extended July 23, 2026) |
| Colorado, statewide | HCPF's moratorium on enrolling new NEMT providers has been in effect since October 1, 2023. It covers new providers only, and providers already registered in the nine-county metro can still join MediDrive. | September 30, 2026 (as last extended). Check HCPF for any further extension before the January 1, 2027 statewide start. |
| New York, statewide | New ambulette, taxi, livery, and rideshare applications need a letter of support from Medical Answering Services. It reviews each network application and decides whether to give one. | Ongoing since April 15, 2024 |

Read the notice closely, because a freeze can be narrower than it sounds. Minnesota's applies to NEMT providers located in the seven metro counties, and companies located anywhere else in the state can still enroll. For the details, see [the metro enrollment freeze](https://nemtguide.com/news/minnesota-metro-nemt-enrollment-freeze/).

## What to do first when a broker says it is full

1. **Send a complete application anyway.** MTM keeps your information on file, MediTrans keeps a denied company on record, and MTM's Rhode Island network runs a waitlist you can join. An application that is half done is easy to skip.
2. **Ask exactly what is full.** Which counties, which service levels, which days and hours? Verida judges need by region, and MediTrans by region and fleet type. Put the question in writing and keep the answer.
3. **Get the decision and the reason in writing.** MediTrans sends a letter either way. Health plans and NEMT prepaid plans must give written notice of the reason under 42 CFR 438.12.
4. **Keep your file ready to start.** Current insurance, driver checks, training, and vehicle inspections let you say yes the day a need opens. MTM's system will not assign trips to a provider whose credentials are not current. Use the [NEMT credentialing checklist](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-credentialing-checklist/).
5. **Check back on a schedule.** Needs change when another provider leaves, a county grows, or a plan changes brokers. A short note every few months, with your current fleet and counties, keeps you in view.
6. **Never pay for a place.** Federal rule [42 CFR 440.170(a)(4)(ii)(C)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-C/part-440/subpart-A/section-440.170) bars transportation providers from giving a broker any payment, rebate, gift, or service to influence referrals. See [NEMT fraud](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-fraud/) for the other lines not to cross.

For the full document list most brokers want, see [NEMT broker credentialing](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-broker-credentialing/).

## Fill a gap the broker cannot cover

A network can be full for one vehicle type and short on another. Build toward the trips that are hard to cover:

- **Service levels the network lacks.** Verida's Georgia provider page says ambulatory, wheelchair, stretcher, and in some programs BLS and ALS ambulance services are often needed. MTM's networks include wheelchair lift vehicles, ambulances, and stretcher vans alongside sedans and transit. See [starting a stretcher transportation business](https://nemtguide.com/guides/start-a-stretcher-transportation-business/) and bariatric transportation.
- **Places no one else covers.** Alabama's NET procedures (July 10, 2025) warn that in some cases no transporters may be available to serve certain counties. Federal rules let a broker run its own vehicles in a rural area only when the state documents that no other qualified provider is available, so a county with that exception is short on providers. See [rural NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/rural-nemt/).
- **Hours and trip types.** Ask the broker whether it is short on early dialysis runs, weekends, or hospital discharges, and offer the ones you can staff. See after-hours NEMT and [hospital discharge transportation](https://nemtguide.com/guides/hospital-discharge-transportation/).

When you apply again, lead with the gap: "Two wheelchair vans and one stretcher van, based in this county, available from 4 a.m. and on Saturdays."

## Other Medicaid doors in the same state

One broker is rarely the only way to reach Medicaid riders. See [how states run NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/how-states-run-nemt/) for the model in your state, then check each of these:

- **Other health plan brokers.** Where each health plan picks its own vendor, a full network at one broker says nothing about the others. As of September 2026, Texas lists 14 Medicaid health plans using three ride vendors (two after Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas moves to MTM Health on October 1, 2026), and Tennessee splits its plans between Verida and Tennessee Carriers. Pennsylvania's June 25, 2026 study notes that plans may also contract with transportation companies directly. See [contracting with Medicaid health plans](https://nemtguide.com/guides/contract-with-medicaid-health-plans/).
- **Fee-for-service programs.** Some states enroll transportation companies directly for members outside the health plans. Nebraska's state plan (effective December 27, 2021) enrolls fee-for-service NEMT providers, including companies certified by the state Public Service Commission, and the state pays them directly. In Ohio, members outside the plans who need a wheelchair van may call an enrolled company themselves.
- **County programs.** In Pennsylvania, 38 counties run their Medical Assistance Transportation Program through a vendor, usually a transit agency, as of the June 2026 study. Ask the county office and its vendor how they add carriers.
- **New broker contracts.** A new broker has to build a network before its start date. The table below lists changes dated in official notices.

| Date | Where | What changes | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1, 2026 | Montana | Modivcare takes over all NEMT provider enrollment and billing. The state says Modivcare will contact providers with steps to continue or to enroll as new. | Call the Montana transportation provider line, (866) 726-1471 |
| October 1, 2026 | Virginia fee-for-service | Trips move to MTM Health | Apply with MTM's Virginia network |
| October 1, 2026 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | Medicaid rides move to MTM Health | Apply with MTM in the plan's service areas |
| November 1, 2026 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico | Medicaid rides move to MTM Health | Apply with MTM before the start |
| January 1, 2027 | Colorado, statewide | Every trip goes through MediDrive, and you need a MediDrive contract to drive | Apply through MediDrive's provider portal |
| No date set | Wisconsin | Verida is set to replace MTM Health under a May 21, 2026 notice of intent. DHS says providers do not need to do anything yet (August 25, 2026). | Sign up for DHS email updates |

A waiting list can carry over to the new broker. When Colorado moved its Denver metro trips to MediDrive, providers on the old broker's waiting list could enroll with MediDrive from May 1, 2026, as long as their credentialing and driver and vehicle rosters were current. HCPF also says providers not enrolled with MediDrive will not be assigned trips or paid once their region moves.

Wisconsin's Department of Health Services notes that state law requires it to rebid its NEMT vendor on a regular schedule, and other states rebid on their own cycles. See [NEMT broker transitions](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-broker-transition/) and [NEMT broker RFPs](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-broker-rfp/).

## Work that does not run through a Medicaid broker

While you wait, these buyers contract with transportation companies on their own terms:

| Buyer | Who pays you | What the rules say |
|---|---|---|
| Adult day programs, nursing homes, dialysis centers, and hospitals | The facility | New York's manual notes that many adult day health care programs contract separately with Medicaid-enrolled transportation providers and pay them directly. See [NEMT facility contracts](https://nemtguide.com/guides/how-to-get-nemt-facility-contracts/). |
| PACE programs | The PACE organization | PACE must cover all Medicare and Medicaid services ([42 CFR 460.92](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-460.92)) and needs a written contract with each outside company ([460.70](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-460.70)). Contracted vehicles must be kept to the maker's maintenance schedule and equipped to communicate with the PACE center, and drivers need training in participants' special needs and emergencies ([460.76](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-460.76)). See PACE transportation contracts. |
| Medicare Advantage plans | The plan or its ride vendor | The Medicare & You 2027 handbook says some plans cover rides to doctor visits, and that these extra benefits are generally limited. See Medicare Advantage transportation. |
| VA medical centers | The VA | VA travel rules define special mode transportation as an ambulance, ambulette, air ambulance, wheelchair van, or other vehicle built to carry disabled people ([38 CFR 70.2](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-70.2)). VA must approve a special mode trip before it happens, except for emergency treatment ([70.20](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/section-70.20)). See VA transportation contracts. |
| Area agencies on aging | The agency or its grantees | Older Americans Act grants can fund transportation to supportive and nutrition services, including service an area agency on aging provides together with local transportation providers and transit agencies (42 U.S.C. 3030d(a)(2)). See area agency on aging transportation. |
| Section 5310 grantees | The state, local agency, nonprofit, or transit operator that received the grant | Buying public transportation services is an eligible capital expense under 49 U.S.C. 5310(b)(4). See Section 5310 grants. |
| Home and community-based waiver programs | Medicaid, through the waiver | CMS says states may cover non-medical transportation so waiver participants can reach community services, activities, and resources when other options are unavailable (SMD 23-006). See waiver transportation providers. |
| Private pay riders and families | The rider | Set your own prices and policies. See [private pay NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/private-pay-nemt/). |

This work also makes your next broker application stronger. A company with steady facility and private pay trips can show real on-time records, trained drivers, and vehicles already on the road.

## Subcontracting for a company already in the network

It is tempting to run trips for a friend who already has a broker contract. Read that contract first. MTM Health's standard agreement, in the January 1, 2023 version Pennsylvania posts, says a provider may not subcontract any services without MTM's express written consent. Other brokers have their own terms.

If the broker agrees, get it in writing and expect to credential your own drivers and vehicles with the broker. States must also screen and enroll every network provider of a Medicaid health plan under [42 CFR 438.602(b)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-438.602). See NEMT subcontracting and the subcontractor agreement checklist before you sign anything.

## Signs the answer will change

Keep a short list of what would reopen the door, and check it every month:

- **A broker or plan change** in your state, from the Medicaid agency's notices or the plan's provider news.
- **A moratorium end date,** such as Minnesota's January 27, 2027.
- **A new service level in your fleet,** such as a stretcher van or bariatric equipment.
- **A new county or new hours** you can cover that others do not.
- **Missed rides in your area** that the facilities you serve tell you about. Federal rules require a state-hired broker to monitor member access and complaints, and the state to audit the broker for timely service and adequate access.

When one of these changes, send the broker a fresh, complete application that leads with the gap you now fill.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long is the wait to join a NEMT broker network?

It depends on the broker and the area. In Rhode Island, MTM Health takes new providers only as needed from a waitlist and estimates a wait of 8 to 12 months, as of September 2026. MTM says providers in areas with a need hear back quickly. MediTrans in Louisiana says onboarding typically takes 2 to 4 weeks from its letter of intent to activation, and not every applicant is accepted.

### Can a broker turn me down if I meet all its requirements?

Yes. Federal rule 42 CFR 438.12 says a Medicaid health plan does not have to contract with more providers than it needs, and the same rule covers a broker the state pays as a NEMT prepaid plan. It must give you written notice of the reason, though. New York's manual says Medicaid enrollment does not guarantee a place in its broker's network.

### Can I get broker trips by subcontracting for a company already in the network?

Only if the broker agrees in writing. MTM Health's standard provider agreement, in the January 1, 2023 version Pennsylvania posts, bars providers from subcontracting any services without MTM's express written consent. Ask the broker first, and expect your drivers and vehicles to need its credentialing too.

### What is a Medicaid enrollment moratorium?

A temporary freeze on enrolling new providers of a type the state and CMS see as high risk for fraud. Under 42 CFR 455.470, it runs 6 months at a time, the state must find it will not hurt member access, and CMS must agree. Minnesota froze enrollment of new NEMT providers located in its seven-county Twin Cities metro from January 27, 2026 to January 27, 2027. Companies located outside the metro can still enroll.

### Does a new broker contract mean new providers can join?

Often, because the new broker must have a network running on day one. In Montana, Modivcare takes over all NEMT provider enrollment for rides on or after October 1, 2026, and the state says Modivcare will contact providers with steps to continue or to enroll as new. Colorado is set to move every trip to MediDrive on January 1, 2027. Watch your state's notices and apply as soon as contracting opens.

### Is it legal to pay a broker employee or a rider to get trips?

No. Federal rule 42 CFR 440.170(a)(4)(ii)(C) bars transportation providers from giving a broker any payment, kickback, gift, or service to influence referrals. New York's transportation manual says it is illegal to pay, or offer to pay, a Medicaid member anything of value for using your service. Win trips with capacity and service, never with gifts.

## Official resources

- [MTM Health: Join our network](https://www.mtm-inc.net/driverswanted/)
- [Modivcare: Transportation provider priority areas and contact form](https://www.modivcare.com/transportation-providers-contact-us/)
- [Verida: Credentialing process and Request for Qualifications](https://verida.com/provider-driver-training/)
- [eCFR: 42 CFR 438.12, Provider discrimination prohibited](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-438.12)
- [eCFR: 42 CFR 455.470, Temporary moratoria](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-455.470)
- [CMS: Medicaid Transportation Coverage Guide (SMD 23-006)](https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/smd23006.pdf)
- [eCFR: 42 CFR 460.76, PACE transportation services](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-460.76)